


Mixing Things Up

by Paramour_Party



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/M, First Meetings, Meet-Cute, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:42:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27129413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paramour_Party/pseuds/Paramour_Party
Summary: A little mix up at the coffee shop brought along a nice and much needed change in routine for Steve.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Steve Rogers
Comments: 15
Kudos: 72
Collections: 31 Days of Writing Challenge - Fall 2020, Marvelously Magical Bingo 2020





	Mixing Things Up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Entwinedlove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Entwinedlove/gifts).



> Written for the 31 Days of Writing, October 4th assigned prompt: restaurant or coffee shop mixes up the orders between Person A and Person B by @Entwinedlove  
> Marvelously Magical Bingo: Free Square  
> Tumblr Prompt from anon: requesting coffee shop au with Hermione & Steve

* * *

It was rare for Steve to let his focus wander, but it happened. It was always the same routine: sleep, eat, training or missions, then repeat. Things felt a little dull after a while in all honesty. 

Bucky took one look at him that morning when he came into the living room after a run and frowned. “You need a new hobby,” his long time friend said, as he dropped down onto the couch next to him. 

“What I need is coffee,” Steve replied.

Sam who was lounging on the couch across from them with his tablet, likely organizing his meetings over at the V.A, hummed in thought. “No, no. I agree with Bucky. You need a hobby,” he said as he put his tablet down, “mix things up a little, man.”

Bucky smirked. “We rarely team up against you so you gotta know we’re right.” 

“The only time you both team up against me is to annoy me, not when you’re right,” Steve corrected, he crossed his arms over his chest. 

Sam dug into his pocket for his wallet and pulled out a twenty. “If you really want what you call a ‘regular coffee’, go pick up some of those pastries too. The kid ate the last three last night.”

“Am I an errand-boy now?” Steve asked as he stood, taking the twenty in hand anyway. They usually called for their order to be delivered but he supposed a walk could help him refocus.

Bucky laughed. “Might as well be your new hobby.” 

Steve rolled his eyes. “You want to add anything to the order, sweetcheeks?” 

“Just go get some fresh air, you punk.” 

* * *

Steve wouldn’t admit it to either Bucky or Sam, but the walk from the tower to the cozy little coffee shop a few blocks away really was a nice change of pace. The morning was a little chilly with winter on the horizon but it was comfortable enough with just a thick hoodie. He adjusted his cap as he entered the shop. 

The smell of freshly baked goods and coffee was a great pick-me-up. The coffee shop wasn’t too crowded having missed the morning rush. There were several tables filled, only four customers lingering inside with their laptops or books. There were two baristas that he could see, one was Alina who knew all of the Avengers’ orders by heart, the other he didn’t recognize and he thought might be new. The line to order only had one person in front of him so he perused the glass display of pastries while he waited. 

He let his mind wander again, thinking he'd probably come back one day with his sketchbook and maybe do some people watching. He hadn’t done that in a while… at least not without the mission-ready mentality. 

“Morning, Steve,” Alina greeted when it was his turn, “the usual?” 

He smiled at her. “Yes please, and add half a dozen of the chocolate pastries.” 

“Sure thing,” she replied, “you can grab a seat while you wait.”

He took a table by the window adjusting his cap when he noticed a college kid at the back of the shop staring at him. He figured his attempt to blend into the crowd failed but he did his best to ignore it. Alina had come by with his box of pastries a few moments later and noticed his discomfort. She was quick to figure out the source and she patted him on the arm reassuringly as she went to speak with the customer. He thanked her softly.

He only had a few more minutes of people watching, before the other barista was calling out. 

“Hermy-uh Hermione? Drink is ready on the counter. And Steve, your drink is also ready on the counter.” 

When Steve stood, a woman was already at the back counter grimacing at her drink. She was turning the cup around in her hand to look at the name with a frown. “I think there’s been a mistake,” she said as Steve was reaching for his own cup. 

He turned back to his table and picked up his box of pastries. He sipped at his drink then paused. His coffee never had cinnamon undertones and normally wasn’t this sweet. He walked back to the counter where the new barista, Mikey going from the name tag, was a little flushed as she apologized profusely to the woman. 

The other customer was reassuring her that mistakes happened when Steve interrupted. “Uh, sorry, I think you have my drink and I might have yours?” 

The woman turned, brushing her curls away from her face as she looked up at him. Her eyes zeroed in on the cup in his hand that said: Steve. “Chai tea latte?” she asked. 

“Sure? Has a bit of a cinnamony taste?” he said. 

She smiled at him and Steve could only stare at how it almost made her face glow. She held out her own cup that had the name Hermione written across it. “I assume you’re the one drinking the heart attack inducer then?” 

“It only has three extra shots of espresso,” he defended himself. 

She raised a brow. “That can't be healthy.” 

Mikey who fidgeted between them, “I-uh- I must have poured the mixes into the wrong cups. I’m so sorry. Let me—let me remake them for you.” She said as rushed to take their cups. 

Steve and the woman tried to assure her it was okay, but Mikey was having none of it. Alina herded the two of them back to a table with some Spandauers on the house. “Sorry about that,” she said as she set the plate down between them. 

The curly-haired woman shook her head waving away their worries. “Please don’t stress about it. If there’s anything we should be stressed over, it’s the fact that this man drinks an unhealthy amount of espresso.” 

Alina nodded sagely and sighed, “I’ve tried to break the habit out of him. He’s a stubborn one.” 

Steve tried not to look embarrassed. “I have a fast metabolism? I’ll live.” 

Alina looked between them and smiled. “I’ll be back with the new drinks.” 

There was a beat, a short moment of awkward silence as they stared at each other, but then it passed. 

“I’m Hermione, by the way,” she said as she held a hand out. She was a shorter woman, probably around Natasha’s height. Brown hair with curls that seemed a little out of control she brushed away from her face. Her eyes were sharp and the attention in them almost put him on edge but nothing set off the mission-ready Captain America in him.

He took her hand with a gentle shake. “Steve,” he said.

They had a bit of small talk while they shared the free pastries. He learned about where she was from, what she did. It was a nice change that she didn’t seem to have a clue about who he was. He can’t remember the last time he’d even introduced himself to a person since he woke up in this time. He spoke vaguely about his job and focused more on his team. 

Their drinks came and neither of them made any movement to get up from the table.

“I hope you weren’t in a rush to go somewhere?” he asked.

“Nope,” she said, “I’m on forced vacation so I got nothing but time right now.” 

He paused. He’d reached for a pastry and brought it halfway up to his lips. “Forced vacation?” 

She grinned. “I hadn’t taken a day off in nearly four years. So here I am, in the Big Apple, trying to pass some time. How about you?” 

“Am I on forced vacation?” he asked, confused.

She laughed and just like her smile, he noticed how it changed her face. Steve couldn’t help but think _Pretty_. He felt like sketching for once. The need to catch the emotion she displayed in art was something he hadn’t felt in a while. 

“No, silly, are you going to be late for anything?” 

Steve glanced at the box of pastries Sam was waiting for. “Not really, why?” 

Hermione’s grin shifted into a bit of a mischievous smirk. “Well, if you don’t mind me being too forward. I could use a tour guide.” 

He laughed at her boldness. “I don’t think I’d be all that great of a tour guide, to be honest. I’m not too familiar with the city,” he replied. 

She shrugged her smirk unwavering. “Then we can explore together.” 

He stared at her, the mission mindset taking over for just a moment in assessment, then he returned her grin. “You know, my friends did tell me I needed a new hobby this morning.” 

“Where should we start?” she asked as she pulled out a map from her bag. 

They poured over the map coming up with the best walking scenic route to the majority of the tourist spots she hadn’t seen on this side of the city. Steve would happily admit that this was a well needed change of pace. He watched Hermione talk about what she’d already seen and the research she put into her trip. He noticed she had a bit of a sweet tooth because of the extensive list of bakeries and coffee shops she plotted, making a route to hit some of them along the way. “My parents are dentists,” she explained, “sweets are a guilty pleasure.”

There was a tension over his shoulder he hadn’t realized he had until it loosened with the thought of just playing tourist. When they left the shop almost thirty minutes later, the plate of pastries and their drinks finished between them, Steve passed the box of pastries he bought back to Alina with an extra-large tip. “If you can get this delivered to the tower for Sam?” he asked. 

Alina just laughed with him. “Have fun on your _date_.” 

He flushed for a moment but smiled. When he got a text message from Sam and Bucky an hour later asking where he disappeared to, he just sent back a smiley face and a ‘you told me to get a hobby’ and left it at that. 

Hermione grinned up at him as she pointed to their next stop on the map.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been away for a few months and I'm sorry! a lot of personal stuff kept coming up and then just general writer's block came back around.  
> Working on some new one-shots separate from Home Again and words for my soul(mate) got the ball rolling again. There are a few more one-shots coming up, but hopefully (although, no promises) updates for my multi-chap fics are coming soon-ish. 
> 
> Thanks for your patience and I hope you enjoyed this!


End file.
